Forbidden Love
by MoonliteMuse
Summary: Sequal to Love of a Beast. Katara and Zuko travel around the world, solving its problems, and their own. They have to face unimaginable dangers, or suffer at the ultimate price. Rated T for potential violence. Review! Zutara
1. The New Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. Sorry.

**A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you have been waiting for! :pulls back red curtains, drum roll in background: the sequel to **_**The Love of a Beast.**_

**I have moved the links to my profile page. One of them is Saphira from _Eragon_, but I imagined Zuko having a body like the picture shows. **

"Woo-hoo! Haha!" Katara was enjoying life as she sailed through the air with her dragon boyfriend. The couple had decided to continue Katara's journey in aiding the world and its problems. But today was just a fun day alone together. They just glided through the chilly air above the Northern Water Tribe. The waterbender's crystal blue orbs scanned the beautiful Water Tribe city. Icy water fountains were little dots here and there, canals on the sides. The large temple had many stairs, the Water Tribe symbol engraved in the center of the structure. The freezing temperatures nipped at her face, taunting her to come down from the sky. Reading her mind, Zuko dove from the sky and landed on the icy city. Blue flames swirled around the dragon as Katara climbed off of the beast. Zuko put his arm around his girlfriend's clothed waist as they made their way into the magnificent city. The freezing air practically suffocated Zuko, for he had not changed since they had departed from the Fire Nation. Muscular arms that were not covered were pale, his face red from the lack of heat. Even he, a firebender who produced extra heat in his body than the average person, was freezing to death in the frozen nation. Katara looked concerned as the great prince begun to shiver, flames coming out in short quantities as he tried to produce more body heat. The waterbender laughed at the mighty once-cursed dragon getting his butt kicked by the cold. "Here, I know a place where we can find suitable clothes for you," she laughed as he smiled gratefully to her, draping her old fur coat over his shoulders to help him.

They arrived at a little building with glass doors. Zuko pushed the doors open, a bell signaling their arrival. An elderly woman smiled warmly at the opposite benders. "Welcome to Yue's Clothing Shop. How may I help you?"

Katara walked up to the ice-brick counter. Zuko's arm was still placed around her middle and she leaned her weight into him. "My friend here is not used to the bitter weather, is there anything here that can help him?"

The manager's eyes widened when she recognized the master waterbender. "My apologies, Lady Katara, for I did not recognize you!" Her small body bowed before the twenty-two-year-old.

Katara smiled, her eyes shut, waving her hand in the air as she nervously laughed. On her exploration she found that some psycho dude with the face of a hog-monkey wanted to kill Princess Yue. Katara had protected the princess with her life, but it was too late that she realized it was all a distraction.

_Nothing had really happened in the past few weeks. The action seemed to die down, but appearances were deceiving. Katara, of all people, knew this. _

"_Princess, is there any sacred place in the Northern Water Tribe?" Katara asked, concerned, the detective reels in her mind running. _

_The princess with beautiful, white hair looked at her bodyguard, a puzzled look on her face. "There is, but-"_

"_Take me there," Katara demanded. _

_xXx_

_They arrived what Yue called the Spirit Oasis. Warm, blue waters surrounded a small piece of land in the center. It was not ice, but actual dirt and grass. Trees covered the entire island, which wasn't very big. Katara gasped as she made a quick ice bridge to the island._

"_Too late," Admiral Zhao smirked, holding the Moon Spirit that was in the form of a white fish with a black dot near its head, firebending ready at any moment to kill the spirit. Before Katara could waterbend and swift away the Moon Spirit, a bright red light claimed the fish, burning it to a crisp. Yue fainted, Katara catching her in her arms. Katara lifted the princess' face towards her, searching for any signs of life. A dim light was finally see, but it started to fade…_

_The night went black, except for the pool, which glowed bright blue with Katara's eyes. Zhao's soldiers slowly backed up, horror-stricken faces screamed as Katara merged with Twi, the Ocean Spirit. Together, they formed a giant water twister that held Katara in the air as she waterbended a hand that grasped the psychotic man. It pulled him into the depths of the clear waters, forever lost in its hold. _

_Twi returned to the water, saddened by the emptiness without the Yang. It was Twi and La, push and pull, Yin and Yang. Katara smiled to herself, also mourning a lost loved one. _

_Fire and water, Yin and Yang, both completing each other. The waterbender heard soft moaning and turned to see Princess Yue barely holding onto the threads of her life. She rushed to her side, accepting any orders that Yue gave her. However, the white-haired girl simply pointed to the pool. Understanding and realizing there was no other choice, she placed La in Yue's hands. The fish glowed and it started flopping up and down. Katara placed it back in the water and Twi and La resumed their eternal dance._

_She carried the body of the princess back to her father, explaining the whole story. He told her, "When Yue was born, the Spirits gave me a vision of a beautiful woman becoming…the moon spirit," he turned to her, smiling. "I knew this day would come, and I thank you, Katara, for protecting my daughter as you did. You will forever be seen as one of great rank amongst your sister tribe," Chief Arnook looked proudly out into the ocean. _

And she guessed the people of the Northern Water Tribe were told to treat her like they did Yue. The elderly woman rose, beaming a smile at the Prince. "I will make tailored clothes for you immediately. Come," she said, her wrinkly tan hand grabbing his as she rushed to the back of the store. Zuko gave a 'help me' look, and Katara just laughed and said "you'll be fine". However, he was not sure about that, because something about the peppiness really disturbed him…

**A/N: This is going to be a much longer story than the last one. Now, are you happy? I've finally gotten it up. I would like at least ten reviews before the next chapter, if possible. Sorry, I don't mean to be mean (lol). As the great Toph once said…**

"**I am Melon Lord! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!" –Toph, Avatar: the Last Airbender**


	2. Welcome to the North Pole! XD

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? **I DON'T OWN AVATAR!!**

**A/N: Well, I updated this because I love it so much (and I'm sure you do, too ;) Hehe, well, please don't throw anything at me once you read this chapter. I couldn't resist! :runs away from angry mob:**

**Angry mob of Avatar fans: GET HER! :raises pitchforks and torches:**

**Me: EEP!! :turns to reader: Please, review.**

"No, I look stupid," Zuko said, horrified with the way he was dressed. His clothes for his entire life consisted of black, gold, and different shades of red, not…this.

"Oh, come on, you look _so_ handsome," the thirty-year-old tailor gushed. "Trust me, Lady Katara will absolutely love it!" she giggled before she violently pushed Zuko from behind the pale blue satin curtains.

He stumbled out of the back room, about to give the bubbly tailor a piece of his mind when his golden eyes caught an angelic figure before him. A tan, slender, voluptuous girl wore a long, snow white dress that hung closely to her flawless figure. A blue stripe the color of her eyes spiraled down the dress, starting from the right shoulder, down to her left hip in a soft diagonal slope, then curved behind her to the back of her right knee, then, from behind, ended at her left foot. A white fur scarf draped circled her neck, keeping it cozy and warm. Two pieces of hair were in her famous hair-loops, the rest hung in its natural form. A silver crown, not worn on the top of her head, but instead, on her forehead, was in she shape of a soft "v", a small, aquamarine teardrop stone hanging off of the bottom point of the "v". The waterbender looked like a princess that his friend Ty Lee had so often talked about as a child. Suddenly, the room was hotter as Zuko pulled on his robe to relieve the heat that was being generated in his body.

Katara saw her companion's face grow red and she looked away, blushing, especially when he gave her that googly-eyed look that made her feel so attractive. She would be more than happy to admit that he wasn't bad-looking either. He wore a long, cloud white robe that broadened when it touched his feet. The robe had long sleeves with blue fire on the ends, then at the waist, and at the end of his robe. Zuko wore his hair the messy way that he knew Katara liked, so he had refused when a special hairdresser came and told he was going to gel his hair. Zuko slowly approached her, a warm, loving smile gracing his beautiful, pale lips. He entwined a gentle hand into her soft, silky hair.

"You look beautiful," he said, admiring _his _princess.

She smiled back at him, feeling the thumb that did soft strokes against her warm skin. "And your color has returned. In fact, your face was red a moment ago," they laughed, a gentle, loving kiss making their spirits soar with great happiness. Katara had before suppressed a low growl when she saw the tailor looking at Zuko the way she did. Now, she gave a triumphant smirk into the kiss as the tailor looked away, blushing, twiddling with her thumbs. Finally, she could take the awkwardness no more as she disappeared into the back room. The two lovebirds broke away, Katara's eyes still closed, her lips still in kissing position.

Zuko looked at her through half-lidded eyes. 'Jealous, my dear?' he asked in her mind.

'Jealous? Wha-what would I be jealous about?' she asked him, a mask of puzzlement on her face. Zuko shook his head. She was really bad when it came to hiding her emotions.

Zuko sighed, giving her a disbelieving 'Really, Katara?' look. 'Katara, I can read your mind, remember? Besides, it was hard not to notice the 'I'm going to kill you' looks you were sending the terrified tailor her way,' he smirked at her, her eyes now open. 'You probably could do it, too,' he laughed, hugging her tightly. 'I am yours, Katara, and you are mine. There's no need for jealousy,' he told her.

She looked at him, serious and yet teasing. 'Just remember those words, Zuko' she thought as she made her way to the counter, a little blue clasp purse in hand. "How much?"

The elderly manager laughed, and Katara looked at her, wondering if the woman needed help. "No, dear, these are closed donated by Yue's father himself. He told me personally that if you ever were to return, these clothes were for you," She stepped from behind the glossy counter. "And to provide clothing for any traveling companions," she gave Katara a knowing wink, the highly esteemed waterbender blushing fiercely. "Pakku's here, were he was last time," at this, Katara perked up. "If you want to stay for a while, you can talk to him."

Katara bowed to the cashier. "Thank you so much for your help." Arm in arm, the couple left the clothing shop. The elderly woman sighed, head resting on her hand, remembering when she was young and in love. 'What a sweet girl,' she thought to herself, smiling. 'And her boyfriend is not to shabby, either,' she laughed to herself. Cleaning up the tailor room, she found two gold pieces, which today would be worth 500. Attached to the money was a note.

Thank you for the clothes.

xXx

People bowed and cheered as the mighty Katara walked through the beautiful paths of the Northern Water Tribe. She looked away, blushing while waving her hand to the adoring crowd. She buried her face into Zuko, in which he doubled over laughing. "Embarrassed much?" he asked. She moaned in a 'help me!' way and buried her face into Zuko even more.

"Yay! Go Lady Katara!" one fangirl screamed.

"Will you go out with me?" a group of Water Tribe boys were huddled and held their bouquets of flowers for the "pretty lady" as they called her.

'I feel like I'm being stalked,' Katara thought.

'No, stalking is when thousands, maybe a whole other UNIVERSE is watching you on some sort of wall-seeing thing, writing about you and different people, dressing up like you, drawing pictures of you, and worshipping you, even though you're never going to appear. THAT would be stalking…' he told her.

The Water Tribe girl shuddered. "Oh, spirits," she murmured, the color draining from her face.

"Katara," an old master waterbender said. "Welcome back to your sister tribe."

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. Teehee I love making Katara so shy, it's hilarious! XD Sorry Katara, I love you as a character, but torturing you is so much fun!**

**Katara: Oh, I'm going to waterbend the crap out of you (anger flaming in eyes)**

**Me: (wags finger) I wouldn't do that if I were you. Remember, I'm the one that's pairing you up with Zuko. **

**Katara: (drops water, mumbles) Fine…but now I have all this energy stored up and I can't use it…**

**Me: How about use it on people who don't review? (evil smirk)**

**Katara: (reflective evil smirk): REVIEW OR YOU SHALL SUFFER AT MY WILL! (big wave in the background)**

**Me: o.O Well, you heard her, review! XD (backs away slowly from the waterbender, then turns and runs)**


	3. An old friend, a new enemy

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender. And I'm proud, because all of the Zutarians would kill me, including myself, and I like living thank you very much. :light bulb: I know it's been done, but I'm going to write a one-shot REAL ending, how it SHOULD'VE ENDED, how it WOULD'VE ended in real life. After this, though, but please tell me what you think about the idea and if you want me to or not. Okay, :points red and blue sword forward: Onward, my Zutarians!

**A/N: Okay, so I wear braces. However, in honor of Zutara, I have the top blue and the bottom red. Now if only I had a flashing neon sign on the brackets that said "Zutara Forever"… me and my imagination XD But, that's why you love me, right? Okay I'll stop talking and start writing now -.-**

"Master Pakku," Katara bowed to her waterbending master. "It's good to see you again," she embraced her grandfather. The old man glared at the Fire Nation Prince behind his granddaughter.

He leaned away from her, his hand on her tiny shoulders. "And is this the boy I've been hearing so much about?" he asked darkly.

Zuko bowed, his left hand in a fist and his right palm flat, wrist on top of the fist. "I'm honored to meet you si-oomph!" Zuko was pushed over by gushing, cold water.

Katara looked at Zuko, her mouth agape. She turned to her grandfather sharply. "What the hell was that for?!" she asked.

Pakku ignored her. He bent some water out of vases and slammed it onto Zuko's body when he tried to get up. The master waterbender froze Zuko to his place. Katara was so furious that she was about to attack her master when Zuko held out a hand and yelled, "Don't do it, Katara!" She looked at him, surprised, before lowering her arms.

"If I may ask, Master Pakku, what do you have against me?" Zuko calmly asked, frozen solid in the air.

The elderly waterbender held up ice daggers that surrounded him, floating in the air. "You kidnapped my daughter-in-law _and _my grandchild. There is no reason to trust you."

Zuko roared a large sheet of fire to melt the ice daggers that threatened to take his life. "Look, I was a different man-no, boy-back then, and I swear I've changed. Now I love Katara with all of my heart and have put my life on the line for hers, and I'll gladly do it again if needed!" he roared.

Pakku gave the young hot head an evil smile. "Oh, it's not her that you'll need to worry about."

Zuko shook his head. "Your Katara's grandfather. I won't fight-" He whipped out a long tentacle of fire to keep from being decapitated by a sharp water whip.

Katara screamed. "ZUKO!!"

Zuko held his hands in the defensive firebending position. "I'll be alright, my love. I won't hurt Master Jerku over there." He glared as he sent several fireballs toward the waterbender, all being blocked. Pakku engulfed himself in a giant water upside-down tornado, blocking all of the dragon's attacks. Finally, Zuko got so fed up with the crazy old man, he crouched on his knees, bending over and shooting his fists out. A large ball of flame was surrounded by a ring of fire, which was guided by a teardrop-shaped flame. It completely dissipated and the old waterbender fell to the ground on his back, the breath escaping from his lungs. Zuko glowered over him. "Leave me and Katara alone," he threatened. Katara rushed to him, practically hugging him to death.

"I'm so sorry, dear. Do you wanna leave?" she asked, tears rimming her eyes.

Zuko kissed her hair. "If you want to." Suddenly, clapping was heard from behind. The couple turned sharply and saw the waterbender sitting upright, smiling, clapping his wrinkly hands together.

'Is he smoking something?' one of the pair thought.

'I don't know…' the other looked at Pakku quizzically.

"It was a test, Zuko," Pakku explained. Zuko was still unsure if the old man had loose balls or something. He held out his hand, "welcome to the Water Tribe." Zuko shook it and Pakku patted him on the back. "Come, you must be cold from your wet clothes…"

"Taken care of," Katara said as she waterbended the water out of her shivering boyfriend.

"Alright, follow me, I'll show you to your rooms," he motioned with his hand to follow him.

"Uh, Master Pakku?" Katara called.

"…"

She looked down at her feet, blushing. "Can we just have one room?"

**A/N: Ooh, Katara is so naughty! XD I tried to add a little humor in here, if you think anything's funny tell me! Please, review, 'cuz now you gotta worry about…**

**Zuko: (surrounded by fire) Review because ZutarianWriter says without the reviews, she's losing her determination to write the story, AND I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!**

**Me: Ah, in a way, I wish you were my boyfriend-**

**Katara: (eyes glowing) YOU JUST SIGNED YOUR DEATH WISH!! (tons of deadly waterbending weapons pointed at me)**

**Me: o.O Chill! If you'd let me finish, I was going to say that he's better off with you, and I'm better off with my boyfriend . (smooches bf on the cheek, he turns and blushes)**

**Katara: (drops weapons) Oooooo, is he Cute? (giggles)**

**Me: 3 3 Very. Let's see, shiny, curly blond locks with slight natural dirty-blond highlights that reach just above his shoulders, AMAZING blue eyes, light skin, he's sweet, kind, funny, a jock, NOT A JERK, plays the same instrument as I do, VERY smart, cute, and he's shy! (hugs bf)**

**Katara: (googly-eyed) ooohh, what's his name?**

**Zuko: (sigh) Girls are crazy… -.-**

**What's my bf's name? :3 Tune in next time to find out!**


	4. Let's Play!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. But I do own my bf lol D

**A/N: School starts in about a week, so the updates are going to be A LOT slower. Please review, or I'll send out Zuko and/or Katara! X.X**

Zuko inwardly grinned, but looked at her, intrigued about the request. He came with some possible answers as to why she went out of her way to ask, and his face grew red, the area around him suddenly becoming hot, like the fire feels when you're up close, the warmth beating down on your face.

Pakku had a serious face, for even though he tested Zuko on how well he could protect his granddaughter, he still did not want him _sleeping _with his family/student. "Whatever you want, Katara. We only had two rooms left."

Katara nodded. "Thank you. I just didn't want to take up to much residence here, that's all!" she told Pakku truthfully, a wide smile glued to her face. Truly, that was her _real _intention, but when she said it she knew it would sound wrong.

'So, do you have anything in mind, babe?' Zuko asked, smiling, his arm around her small waist.

She turned to glare at him. 'Don't be so stupid,' she chastised him. 'I just wanted to take up as few space as possible. Besides,' she turned, looking straightforward. 'Although I miss sleeping against your dragon body, I would like to see how it feels when we're in a bed.'

'I would to.'

'Shut up!'

'I'm not even talking,' Zuko smirked. Katara didn't respond, deciding to ignore his childish behavior, which in truth she found quite cute. However, as he kept talking to her, she got frustrated and stormed off, looking for the room she had asked Pakku for directions for.

Zuko sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Then, a thought occurred to him. "Master Pakku, can you tell me something?"

xXx

Katara flopped onto the waterbed, the whole bed squishing as she did so. It was powder blue with the white Water Tribe insignia. Furs hung all around the icy room. In front of her were two Water Tribe spears that made an "x" on the wall. There were so many things that reminded her of home, where she was born, the life she had left behind so long ago.

The only she missed was the penguin sledding. She smiled to herself, remembering so many times as three-feet tall she would slide down the icy slopes. Sometimes she would even fall into a pile of snow, giggling when she pried herself away. Katara chuckled, remembering that no matter what had happened to her, she would always go penguin sledding again. 'I wonder what similar activities I could do here…'

Knock. "Came I come in?" a gentle voice sounded from the entrance. There was no door, only a soft blue curtain, so the person had knocked inside the room. She opened her eyes, a soft smile gracing her pink lips. The waterbender gave him a gentle nod.

"Where have you been?" she asked, the melody in her voice singing a sweet song.

"Oh, just learning a thing or two from your master," he grinned at her.

She narrowed her eyebrows, then lifted one above the other. "What were you learning from-" a giant flop on the bed stopped her sentence. The bounce was so tremendous she hovered in the air for a split second before squishing onto the bed, laughing with her firebender. "You're so childish, you know that, Zuko?"

He laughed, a hand stroking the side of her face. Both were on their sides, facing each other, smiling into pools of honey or oceans of blue. "I love you," he said, a gentle mouth pressing against the waterbender's.

She whispered softly, "I love you too, Prince Zuko." A caramel hand entwined with his hair, pulling him closer to her. Zuko snaked his arm around her waist, the other around her neck. Katara's hand gently rested on his shoulder, mouths never separating from each other. The bed swished with every movement they made, even when a pale hand unzipped the back of a dress…

An hour later

"Miss Katara," a faint voice said from outside. Katara sat up, gripping the blanket to her exposed chest. "Yes?"

"There is a banquet being held in your honor in fifteen minutes, and Chief Arnook would appreciate if you were to join us," the messenger said.

The girl with the messy hair grinned at the man with the disarrayed hair. He smiled at her through half-lidded eyes, for the energy he had used for the day had put him into a state of exhaustion. "We'll be there," Katara told him, never taking eyes off of the dragon.

"We??" the messenger questioned, but decided to leave anyway, having completed his quest.

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. (Yawn) I is tired. I's getting to sleepers. (snooze) :my incorrect grammar shows how tired I am -.-: Rivew! ZzzZzzZZzz **

**Katara: Wait, weren't you going to tell us the name of **_**your **_**boyfriend?**

**Me: (answers in sleep) Jacob…**

**Katara: (beams a smile) Okay!**

**Zuko: Since the women are obviously busy, please review! (grabs air horn to wake up ZutarianWriter) **


	5. The Feast

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

**A/N: Thank you: Crystal Yama, ****imacowgirl****, ****w.i.t.c.h fan in ut****, Michelle, ****whiteoak-alina united****, ****BobsRules****, ****Baby-Girl78****, and ****rock n elemental**** for their support for this fic. Thanks! **

The light of small, white lamps gave the room its moonlight glow. A vast blue table stretched across the entire rectangular room, a collection of foods, such as melons, sea prunes, chicken-turkey, cow-frog, and too many others were laid out in a neat, organized arrangement. Fine wine glasses sat before each member of the table, filled with water. A folded napkin sat next to every glass, priceless silverware carefully placed within the cream cloth. At the front end of the table sat Chief Arnook, in his best formal attire. Katara sat on his left side, on the upper left corner of the long table. Zuko, in his new Water Tribe clothing, sat patiently on the Chief's right, waiting for the speech he was about to share. Chief Arnook stood, his gaze upon the citizens of the Northern Water Tribe, from the esteemed high-class to the peasants that sat furthest from the guests of honor.

"My people, listen to me. You know as well as I do that banquets such as this rarely occur. Never before has everyone in the entire Tribe been invited to such an occasion until this day. On my left is our savior, Lady Katara, who just a mere year ago saved our people. She protected Yue with her life, and was successful. However, as astounding as her powers are, she couldn't save the Ocean Spirit. At that point, she did more that what the Avatar himself could have done. Instead, she guided my daughter to her destiny, to become the Moon Spirit. We are so grateful with what Lady Katara has provided us!" The leader rose his glass in the air, and several others raised theirs with his. "I propose a toast to Lady Katara and all she has done for us," he smiled. "To Lady Katara!" Everyone cheered, slightly tapping each other's glasses, the sound like chimes ringing through the dining room.

Zuko looked at her especially, a soft smile on his recently kissed lips. "To Lady Katara," he rose his glass to her, the water swishing inside it. The Prince tipped his glass, the cool liquid rushing down his throat.

The rest of the evening was spent in quiet bliss, everyone feasting on the exceptional banquet. After the meal, which included the most wonderful pastries and sweets Katara has ever had the pleasure to please her taste buds, everybody came to meet her, from highly esteemed noblemen and women to high-ranked military officials. The poorer class started to leave, knowing it was not their place to meet one of such a status in their culture. However, one brave, little girl came running to the master waterbender, who was surrounded by powerful people. "Excuse me, nice lady?" she piped.

Blue eyes darted to the small child. "Excuse me, please," her womanly voice asked. The crowd parted, the little girl all by herself. Katara smiled at her, feeling like she was looking in a mirror that reflected her in the past. "What would you like, child?" Instead of responding, said child threw her arms around the twenty-two-year-old. Katara's face went from shock to warm and loving. Her elegant dress of silk rubbed against the child, and Katara heard murmurs such as, "How dare she come into the presence of Lady Katara?", "She could soil the dress!", "Whoever is in charge of her shall be severely punished!" Katara gasped as she held the child in her arms. "How can you people say such a thing?" she demanded.

The room sat in silence, the guest of honor seething. "She's thanking me! A sweet, innocent little girl is thanking me! It doesn't matter if she's not my rank or whatever-" she was silenced by a look from a man.

'Katara, I understand how you feel. Remember, our thoughts and feelings are intertwined. We came here to see if there was anything going on, and we find nothing. Let's contin-' A loud bang pierced the silence of the room. The women screamed, some men ran, others stood in defense. Golden and blue orbs widened at the human, sprawled out in a pool of blood. No, it can't be!

"Chief Arnook!"

**A/N: What was that loud bang? Find out next chapter! **

xXx

Katara rushed to the political leader, water in hands. She quickly kneeled next to him, water glowing around her hands. "I need some help! I can only heal his external wounds...is there any medicine that can heal his damaged organs?!" Katara asked.

Master Pakku spoke up. "The water from the Spirit Oasis is told to have magical properties. I'll go get some," he told her.

The waterbender nodded, turning Chief Arnook's face to see her. 'Hold on!' she mentally cried.

Slit, golden eyes caught a flicker in the shadows. He headed off, in pursuit of the potential murderer.

xXx

The Blue Spirit tiptoed silently through the dark halls of the palace. It looked much like his own, so it was easy to navigate. Suddenly, a chunk of stone whizzed through the air. The Blue Spirit quickly drew his swords and slashed at it, the stone crumbling into pieces. "Who are you?" he said in a disguised voice. Using his dragon eyes, he could make out the back of a braid before it disappeared underground. Zuko ran to where the suspect stood a moment ago, a strange metal weapon lying on the ground. Cautiously he picked it up, studying the structure. It was about the size of his hand, a long, iron tube with a hole at the end. Connected to the iron tube was a rectangular piece, used for gripping, Zuko guessed. Then, under the iron tube, in front of the handle was another metal piece, shaping in a downward arc. It was so small that he could easily wrap a finger around it. Inspecting it, his fingers grazed over the production label.

Made in Earth Kingdom

**A/N: Okay, the chapter is officially done. Ha, had you going there, didn't I? Please, as always, review!**


	6. The Yawn

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

**A/N: School delays updates. Sorry!**

Zuko inspected the metal weapon with great curiosity, for he had never seen such a complex instrument before. The most advanced weaponry he had seen was the Fire Nation tanks, but this was unbelievable. He opened a side compartment, studying the slots with tiny metal objects in them, for what would be called later bullets. The gun was fully loaded, except one slot was missing. Zuko slowly stood up, his eyes tracing over the design of the metal machine. The dim light in the hall cast a faint glow on his face, twisted in thought. He gracefully and silently strode through the hall, changing to his original clothes. He approached the surrounding crowd, the gun in hand. Muffled voices whispered in confusion of the foreign object. What was it, and what could it do? No one could answer that at this point.

"Zuko, what is that?" Pakku asked as Katara healed the Northern Water Tribe leader. Everyone continued to stare at the gun with great wonder.

Zuko shook his head. "I don't know, but, whatever it is, it's not made in the Water Tribes." He held it high for everyone's view. On the back was a cleverly hidden symbol, and only with steam could you see which nation it came from….

When Katara did all she could for Chief Arnook, she went over to Zuko. With trembling eyes, she asked, "Are you okay?"

In response, Zuko bent a little to wrap her in his secure arms. Katara held her firebender by his shoulder blades. "I'm fine," he whispered into her ear. She smiled at the sincerity in his velvety voice. Zuko kissed her hair, assuring any doubt in her that he meant what he said. Pulling away, Katara let a splash of water twirl in a soft, lotion hand. The dragon met her water with a small flame. Holding the gun underneath, the moisture dripped onto the metal weapon, revealing the symbol. Zuko growled his old, dragon growl. Katara reminisced the sound, remembering when she first heard it. Her ears hadn't caught the sound in a long time.

"The Earth Kingdom." He turned to her, eyes burning. "We're going to Ba Sing Se."

xXx

Pakku arrived to the large, red dragon that laid at the entrance to the Northern Water Tribe. Zuko watched the master waterbender with great caution, wary of every move the old man made. Katara approached the stare-down. Her hair was in a braid and two hair-loops. A long, white gown adorned her figure. The men looked away, ashamed. Zuko stared at his girlfriend, smiling. Of all the girls to fall in love with him, he got to have this one. He didn't deserve her, but he knew he would break her heart, and his own, if he left her, so it would be pointless. Seeing his smile, Katara turned away, blushing. She hopped on top of her boyfriend and they rode off into the cold, early morning sky. Light blue, pink, and some purple lit the sky in a beautiful arrangement.

Katara shivered as she observed the ceiling above. "I..i…it's b-b-eautiful, isn't-t-t-t it?" Her teeth chattered.

Zuko shook his head. 'Not if you can't enjoy it because your body is slowly freezing into a block of ice,' he told her as he did an aerial spiral dive. She gripped onto the spikes as tight as she could, her eyes shut. Only a second later did she open her eyes, and found that they were gliding just above the water. She slid her hand down and grazed the water's surface, leaving behind her a wake. She giggled as she saw penguin-dolphins leap from the water. Zuko laughed, the pleasurable sound of Katara's laughter ringing in his ears. Having had no rest at all the previous night, she sprawled gently across the large dragon, letting her eyes flutter closed….

**A/N: Sorry this is a super-short chapter. I'm about to do what Katara's doing. As I'm typing this at 1 freaking o' clock, I'm seeing "Zzzzzz's" on my computer screen. I promise the next chapter will be much better and longer. Night!**


	7. Welcome to Ba Sing Se!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

**A/N: I'm sorry people, but my writing skills are very rusty, sad to say. I also regret to inform you that this story will be taken off soon. However, if I get 10 reviews saying to keep it, I will. But I'm not as interested in this story as I once was, and I'm losing my thoughts and ideas that were once so well prepared for it. So, please review!**

The rays of a new dawn made the beautiful waterbender's face glitter with crimson light from a certain person's scales. Slowly her eyelids rose and revealed to her a world unseen by her before. It was a vast city surrounded by an earthy wall so enormous and powerful that Katara could not help herself but just stare at it. "Zuko…where are we?" she asked in a groggy voice.

"We're at Ba Sing Se," he told her. He had never been here himself, but Zuko had heard the wishes of his Uncle being a teashop owner here. Maybe that dream would one day come true. As Zuko scanned the city, he found that it was going to be difficult to land. Katara sat up, rubbing her eyes. "How about over there?" she suggested, using one hand to rub her eyes and the other to point to an open area.

Zuko blinked. 'That's good,' he said, folding his wings as he plummeted to the targeted space. Katara held on tightly, fearing what fortune would befall her if she didn't.

The air allowed a dragon to gently land, like a mother when she puts down her baby for a nap. As Katara climbed off, she looked for a reflection of some sort to check on her hair. Zuko simply laughed, kissing her on the top of her head. "You look beautiful."

She smiled at him, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. But then she looked at her clothes, frowning. "But I'll need new clothes." She looked up with a certain mischievous glint in her twin oceans. "We need to blend in as much as we can. That way we'll be more hidden." Zuko nodded in agreement. He took her hand and led her through the throng of Earth Kingdom citizens.

Katara's curious eyes searched the crowd. Greens and browns everywhere she looked. Marketplaces lined the stony streets. The water tribe girl knew better than to spend a fortune, but she couldn't help but dazzle at the way a jade necklace caught the light, or how the sitar would sing under practiced hands. As Katara marveled at what Ba Sing Se had to offer, Zuko went around, repeating (to his irritation) the same question over and over. "Where are the weapons made here?"

Same hypnotized response. "Ba Sing Se is a peaceful city. We have no need for weapons." Zuko rolled his eyes, growing more impatient with these robotic answers. His girlfriend saved him, coming over and grabbing him gently by the arm, looking up into his eyes.

A girl once had the same look in her eyes while holding his arm…Zuko shuddered at the thought. "We need to find a place to rest tonight," Katara urged. The firebender blinked himself out of his alternate world. "Of course," he said, looking at her with distracted eyes, entwining his fingers with hers.

Katara's perfect lips set into a subtle scowl. "What's the matter, Zuko?"

Serious deja vu. "Nothing," he lied. He saw Katara's jaw tighten. Not wanting to tick her off any more than he had, he let her lead the way to a suitable inn.

They arrived at a reasonable spot. As Zuko looked around, he thought to himself, 'This would make a great teashop.' When they checked in, Katara was already storming off to their room, still fuming over Zuko. The boy sighed, placing his earth kingdom currency on the counter. He asked where the bathroom was so he could wash up.

"Second door down the fifth hallway to your left," the man told him, pointing lazily in the approximate direction. He nodded, thanking the man, and went to go wash up. Once the hot water seared off the dirt and grime from his face, Zuko took a moment to look at his reflection in the mirror. Shakily he raised a hand to touch the marred flesh, the pad of his fingers rubbing gently over it, sighing at the memories it brought today. Convenient that all these horrible memories would resurface today. Shaking his head in hopes to shake the memories with it, he removed his shirt, his pale flesh glowing in the silvery moonlight. But once he got back to their room, he was nothing compared to the goddess beauty that slept on the floor in her white underwear, a white v-neck sleeveless top (with layers) that came above her ribs, and a matching skirt/underwear. The moonlight made the silhouette glow with goddess features. Zuko grinned, settling himself behind her, wrapping an arm around a smooth, chilled waist, his eyes falling closed as he buried his face into her luscious hair.

xXx

"Sir, we have two suspicious teenagers wandering the streets. What are your orders?"

The man grew interest in his cleaned fingernails. He said in a dark voice, "Take care of them. Immediately."


End file.
